Former Maryland mayor who died in January accused of embezzling $2.2 million from DC charter school system

Kevin Ward, the former Maryland mayor who died by obvious suicide in January, has been accused of embezzling thousands and thousands in public funds from one of the most important charter school techniques in Washington, D.C., previous to his demise, based on a brand new lawsuit.

The civil grievance, filed on Monday in D.C. federal courtroom, alleges that Ward dedicated wire fraud and theft utilizing authorities cash that’s awarded yearly to KIPP DC. The charter school community is a subset of the district’s wider public school system, encompassing 20 colleges and eight campuses the place roughly 7,000 college students are enrolled on a tuition-free foundation, the lawsuit states. It goes on to notice that KIPP DC acquired greater than $1.3 million in federal program grants between July of 2019 and June of 2020, and almost 2 1/2 instances that sum over the course of the following tutorial 12 months.

Ward was the senior director of expertise at KIPP DC till not less than July of 2021, based on the grievance, which says that his tasks in that position included buying a variety of “information technology products” for the charter school system, like computer systems, tablets, software program and community companies. Following the lawsuit’s timeline for his departure, Ward left the place quickly after he was elected mayor of Hyattsville that May. He had beforehand served two phrases on the town council and stepped in as interim mayor when Candace Hollingsworth resigned, CBS affiliate WUSA reported.

During his tenure as KIPP DC’s expertise director, the lawsuit alleges that Ward positioned orders for greater than $2 million price of school provides — meant to accommodate the district’s shift to distant studying amid the pandemic — from a fraudulent firm and subsidiary that by no means delivered the supplies. 

The firm, recognized as Tenret Tech, was registered with the Maryland State Department of Assessment and Taxation only one month into the pandemic and listed Ward as its licensed particular person and resident agent, which might give him license to handle contracts in addition to tax and authorized paperwork on behalf of the company, based on the grievance. Tenret Tech’s main handle was allegedly Ward’s residential handle. 

The lawsuit claims that KIPP DC paid Tenret Tech and Vast Systems, an affiliate firm additionally suspected to be fraudulent, about $2.2 million for laptops, tablets and associated expertise companies by means of enterprise dealings “arranged for and approved by Ward.” 

It alleges that the cash was deposited into two separate financial institution accounts and that Ward used it to buy a number of vehicles in addition to sports activities memorabilia, together with restricted version art work of athletes like Michael Jordan, Eli Manning and Jerry Rice. The lawsuit goals to grab the property that Ward allegedly acquired by means of illegal means.

Ward, alongside together with his husband and two sons, moved to Hyattsville in 2014. He was first elected to the town council in 2015, and later served as council vice chairman and council president. After serving as mayor of Hyattsville for lower than one 12 months, the 44-year-old was discovered lifeless in January from a gunshot wound that was apparently self-inflicted. Described as “a valued and trusted leader” who was “beloved” by the neighborhood in the town’s announcement confirming his demise, Ward was the primary Black man elected mayor of Hyattsville and an advocate for voting rights and reasonably priced housing, who known as for added help to native companies harmed by the pandemic throughout his marketing campaign, based on the Hyattsville Wire. 

Scott MacFarlane contributed to this report.